91 Days Episode 4 Review: Losing to Win, and What Comes After

After three episodes of serious plot building, 91 Days decided to give us a break in episode four with a relaxing trip and some cute gags. This episode focuses on the theme of “brotherhood”. You may have not noticed, but both Nero and Avilio are both big brothers and the eldest child of their families.

While Avilio is driving slowly in the rain, Nero has a flashback about his relationship with his brother, Frate. He rarely spoke to Frate recently, which is somehow quite similar to his current situation with the quiet Avilio. Nero is using the time in this episode trying his best to break the ice with Avilio.

Meanwhile, the hunter who was sent out in the last episode is tracking them down with his loyal dog. Although he may look a little frightening, I assure you he is actually the most entertaining character in this episode!

If you’re curious about Avilio, this is a good episode to learn more about him. First, according to Nero, we learn that Avilio is quite good in crashing things when he drives. Second, when they have pancakes at the diner, we see that Avilio has a serious sweet tooth as he soaks his pancakes in syrup! Third, although we already had a glimpse of Avilio’s pile of wallets under his bed in the first episode, we finally witness with our own eyes that he is a brilliant pickpocket who is capable of stealing Nero’s belt from his trousers within seconds.

Nero, the young master of a mafia family, is also a surprising character. You don’t usually see a mafia member volunteering to perform juggling for some children, do you? Besides juggling, Nero does some arm-wrestling in exchange for liquor and money. Very non-master-like, isn’t he?

The highlight of this episode is Avilio and Nero’s conversation at the lakeside during their camping. Nero shares his memory about seeing a circus troupe called “Alexander” when he was a ten-year-old boy. It turns out that he and Vanno learned juggling together because of that circus. They even showed their tricks to Frate and Fio. Nero then wonders if Avilio is an only child. Avilio says yes.

Then, Avilio shares his 10-year-old memory with Nero. Ironically, that is the age when he lost his family and joined the gangster life. After he shares his story about how he started to pickpocket, Avilio asks about Nero’s first job, which happens to be the killing of the Lagusa family. Avilio managed to keep his expression cool when he listens to Nero’s story but you can clearly see that there is a fire burning in his eyes.

Avilio asks Nero how many they were in that first job. According to Nero, there were four of them, including himself. Then Avilio moves on to ask Nero whether he had killed the family. Nero doesn’t deny it. He explains that the man (referring to Avilio’s father) attacked them first so they had to take him down. He also confesses that he shot one of the children who managed to ran away but didn’t get him. When Nero is sound asleep, Avilio reads the letter from the mysterious sender by the campfire. He starts to wonder who is this so-called “your father’s friend” that sent him his revenge list.

We already know that 91 Days is supposed to be an anime about mafia, gunshots, and revenge. Is it possible that a sweet peaceful episode could end without a single bloodshed? Of course, not! This time, instead of the typical gunshot scenes we had in the previous episodes, we are having a Goliath vs. The Runaway Duo wrestling match! Trust me, ordinary gunshots are useless against Goliath. You’ll understand what I mean when you watch the episode!

Goliath is the name given to the hunter by Barbero. He is a tall, big guy dressed in colourful Mexican clothing. His special skill is killing people with a big hug. Literally, he hugs them to death.

Nothing seems to work on him except for Avilio’s favourite canned pineapple. This battle is furious but also hilarious. Our big Mexican jumps in from a window like a ninja, holding two blades in front of his chest, just like Wolverine does! Plus, for the first time, you get to see fear in Avilio’s usually fearless eyes! Really, DO NOT MISS THIS FIGHTING SCENE!

In the end, Goliath is taken down by another man and his loyal dog is left alone and unharmed. Lucky dog! Nero and Avilio request that the man takes good care of the dog and they resume their journey on Goliath’s horse cart. What happened to the car they were driving at the beginning? Well, our genius driver Avilio crashed it into someone, again!

After all this memory-sharing and battle-fighting, there is no doubt that Avilio and Nero came closer to each other. But will this affect Avilio’s plan of revenge?